Question: Can someone who has sold their lot be reappointed as secretary of the owners corporation through a proxy?
Our secretary recently sold their apartment but has since been appointed secretary again by proxy from another related lot owner.
Is this legal?
Answer: A former lot owner can be co-opted back onto the committee as secretary if they hold a valid proxy from a current lot owner.
The secretary is a committee position, so before selling their lot, your secretary would have been elected to that role at an Annual General Meeting.
Any lot owner may appoint a proxy for a maximum of 12 months. Any lot owner, or their valid proxy, is eligible to serve on the committee.
When your secretary sold their lot, their committee position became vacant. If a vacancy occurs and at least three committee members remain, the committee may either leave the position vacant or co-opt a member of the owners corporation. This is a committee decision and does not require a vote of the owners corporation.
In your case, the committee has likely co-opted the former secretary back onto the committee using the proxy they now hold.
In many situations, this is a positive outcome. A knowledgeable, experienced, and engaged committee member can be of great value to the owners corporation.
This arrangement will continue only until the next AGM, when the committee must be re-elected. If the secretary wishes to renominate, they will need to be granted a new proxy to represent that lot owner.
This post appears in the May 2026 edition of The VIC Strata Magazine.
The Knight Email P: 03 9509 3144
